John Gotti essays

John Gotti essays John Gotti lived in one of those crowded dirty apartment. A young John Gotti seeked an impoverished existence with his parents and eleven sisters and brothers. His father brarely ever worked and when he did only at menial jobs. Also had a problem risking the money that the family did have on gambling. Eventually Gottis dad rasied enough money so the family could move to central Brooklyn, which was known as East New York at the time. Gotti went through alot to get to the top but he made it. Growing up in central brooklyn with nothing to look foward to Gotti seeked out the Cosa Nostra. Gotti was power hungry and needed respect he felt that he could gain them both by being a part of the Cosa Nostra. He started as many young boys did, running errands for the gangsters, molding himself into a young bully with a future. His first major problems with the police occurred when he tried to steal a cement mixer and it fell on his feet this injury affected his future for the rest of his life. He quit school at sixteen and rose to leadership in a local street gang of thieves called the Fulton-Rockaway Boys, named after two streets in their neighborhood. At an early age he exerted his bad temper, dominance and readiness to engage in fistfights. This was just what he needed to develop his potential as Boss of the Moffia. In the mid 1960's, Gotti's boss Carmine Fatico moved his headquarters out to Ozone Park near JFK Airport. Gotti and his brothers, Angelo and Willie became relatively successful hijackers. They were hjacking for about 8 years untill they got caught in 1968 and were in jail untill 1972. When Gotti got out of prison He idmediatly went back to Ozone Park. The headquarters had been renamed on the streets as The Bergin Hunt and Fish Club. Two important things happened in his life to significantly lift his status in the Cosa Nostra. The first was that his boss Carmine Fatico faced a loansharking indictment, so Gotti became...

Free Research Paper

Free Research Paper Free Research Paper Free Research Paper What is my opinion about free research paper?   I do not like it.   I think that free research paper is good only when used as an example of the format.   Otherwise, it should not be copied and submitted as your own. Most universities have a style guide detailing formatting and presentation requirements for academic research paper writing (spacing, required sections, maximum length, etc.) which you will need to follow. Getting a copy of this early, and writing all your chapter drafts in the approved style, can save a lot of time later. If you ask your supervisor or other students, you may be able to obtain an electronic file formatted in the required paper style. If your university has no particular rules for research paper formatting and presentation, then your professional judgment and the rule of consistency should be employed. Read other English research papers in your library and journal articles in order to ascertain general standards apply in your discipline and structure of headings best helps the clarity of the text. Watch for good and bad examples of the use of bold and italic type, font sizes, and so on. Writing a research paper consult with your adviser as much as possible, it will help you avoid many mistakes. Research Paper Ideas Finally, you should read a hard copy of your research paper writing from start to finish, rechecking your paper structure, arguments and looking for grammatical problems. (Some people can edit academic research paper writing successfully on screen. However, most people are more accurate in editing a printed copy of the paper, and it is the printed copy that your examiners will read, so we recommend using a hard copy for final editing.) Your final draft should ideally be fully edited by someone else who is unconnected with the research, and who can read the paper from start to finish, concentrating on spelling, grammar, formatting, expression and presentation. This stage is important for all students in obtaining a final meticulous check, but particularly important if English is not your first language. This final 'editor' may be a friend or family member, or even a professional editor. It should be a native English-speaker if possible, and should certainly be someone who writes well and who is capable of careful attention to detail. If you need research paper help, you can freely ask us for assistance.   We are open 24/7 to help you with research paper writing at any time of day and night.   High quality research paper is a guarantee of good grade and your excellent academic record. Do not hesitate to contact us if you need more information about our research paper writing service.

Planning and Recruitment Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Planning and Recruitment - Coursework Example This would obviously keep the organization abreast of the changes that are happening globally and which are important to comprehend. The importance of effective planning is that it keeps everything in order and allows one to understand the proper nuances of staffing and recruitment that come within the aegis of an organization in this day and age. The future of any organization is quite dependent on how staffing aspects shape up and what these will bring within its people to people contact within it in the long run. This shall mean a great deal of significance for the employees who get recruited within it for one reason or the other. Q 2: Construct a Job Advertisement of Human Resources Manager vacancy taking into consideration the below fields: Attention, Interest, Desire & Action As far as attention is concerned, there should be a proper heading in place which gains the much needed concentration of the intended audience. This will solve the issue of breaking through the clutter and reaching out to the end reader in a clear cut way. It will be very precise and to the point. Interest is gained with a proper visual in place which is provided the necessary cover through the body copy that is mentioned in the advertisement. It will make sure that the exact message is conveyed here which would be very crisp and interesting in its entirety. This will ask the reader to be a part of the advertisement even more. The desire aspect comes in when the audience long to be a part of the human resources manager vacancy which is given significance by what he is asked to do and what he must carry out in order to be a part of the organization that by now he is willing to recruit within. The action phase is made apparent when the prospective applicant is asked to either contact the person who has been mentioned through e-mail or a mailing address. This is the part where the applicant would contact the organization and thus get in line with the company that he wishes to be a part of. Q 3: Explain the internal and external Recruiting Strategies. Internal recruiting strategy is when the organization wishes to fill up a vacancy from inside its entirety. On the other hand, external recruiting strategy is applied when the business seeks a new applicant from other sources that are outside the business domains. The recruiting strategy that is best utilized by the organization is the one that seeks the best talent for the said position under consideration and is less costly in terms of the amount spent. This would mean that some organizations would like to use a combination of both of these recruiting strategies from time to time while others stick to one of the two. It entirely depends on what kind of understanding the organization has with its own labor force and what it wants to achieve from the people that are working under its aegis. The internal recruiting strategy is usually fast-tracked because an employee would only need to change his position within the of fice. The external recruiting strategy is different and more cumbersome, as it demands more vigilance and extra controls to be implemented within its fore. This would mean that the external recruiting strategy is usually costly and requires hard work on the part of the human resources management realms. Q 4: Discuss the importance of Code of

Does it matter whether or not firms pay dividends Why Essay

Does it matter whether or not firms pay dividends Why - Essay Example Those companies use that undistributed earnings to reinvest in the business and thereby increase the size of the organisation. Evidently, this practice may adversely affect the financial interests of company shareholders. However, the current market position of the firm particularly influences the implications of non-payment of dividends on the business. This paper will specifically discuss what happens whether or not firms pay dividends. Why some companies pay dividends while some others do not? Undoubtedly, a company tends to pass its earnings to shareholders as remuneration for their investments and hence to retain their interests in the company. When an organisation pays attractive dividends, existing shareholders can significantly gain from their investments. It forces shareholders to stay with the company, and the payment of dividends may also assist the company to attract new potential stakeholders (‘Investor Relations’ 2010). It is clear that dividends paid for a fiscal period is appeared on the consolidated balance sheet prepared at the end of that period. Investors mainly scrutinise current dividend rates so as to decide whether or not to purchase the stocks of the firm. Usually, if investors find that the company offers poor dividend rates, they would not be much interested in investing in that firm. It must be noted that the price of a share is greatly affected by the demand for that particular share in the stock market. Thus, poor dividend rates and non-payment of dividends may cause the firm’s stock prices to decline. Evidently, no company would be willing to accept a decline in its share prices. Therefore, today many of the companies strive to meet its investors’ interests and to attract new potential investors by paying attractable dividends to stockholders. In contrast, rapidly growing concerns would keep maximum money with them so as to promote further growth. Hence, those concerns would not pay dividends. Even a mat ure organisation which believes that it has further growth potential may choose to reinvest its earnings into the business. Companies that do not pay dividends may use the saved money to invest in a new project, acquire new assets, repurchase their shares that have been sold to outsiders, or even to buy out a running company. Many firms avoid paying dividends to eliminate the huge expenses of issuing new stocks. By keeping their full earnings with them, companies can get rid of the risk of raising funds to meet their various needs. Does it matter whether or not firms pay dividends? The implications of payment or non-payment of dividends on the business may vary according to the investors’ actual investment interests. If the business is still rapidly growing and the investor has long term interests in the company, then non-payment of dividends would not matter. More precisely, when an investor aims at high rates of returns on his investment in the long term, he would be willin g to sacrifice his short term financial interests for the long term growth of the firm. As discussed already, the reinvestment of earnings in the business would greatly assist a growing organisation to fuel its business growth. Therefore, a financially sound investor would support reinvestment of profits for the further growth of the business. From a tax perspective, non-payment of dividends can better serve the financial interes

Environmental Issue Essay Example for Free

Environmental Issue Essay Poor waste management is one of the major problems that have vast social-ecological and economic negative effects on a global scale. This has resulted from the fast growth of the urban centers which form the main source of wastes and its poor management by the respective authorities. Indeed, over 90% of the total major cities globally have problems related to waste management (Bureau of National Affairs, 2007). However, cities in the third world economies are affected more by the problem than those in developed countries. Urgent measures are therefore required to address the problems and therefore guarantee ecological sanctity and social integrity of the affected systems. Use of qualitative and quantitative data Addressing the problem of the wastes in the urban regions demands the collection of factual information to establish the correct methods and ways that can be used to address the problem. Taking into consideration that the problem has escalated over a long period of time, use of qualitative data would provide the relevant descriptive information for the waste and therefore aid in determining the best modes of addressing the problem (Toma, 2008). Wastes from the cities can be qualitatively categorized as solid and liquid wastes. The data can further be descriptive of the biodegradable wastes, plastic wastes, pharmaceutical wastes, and sharps. Quantitatively data on the other hand would be very essential in understanding various quantities of the qualitatively categorized wastes. Understanding the statistics provides the respective authorities with the relevant information that can assist them in determining the mode they would use in countering the same problem. Chemical treatment of liquid wastes is sustainable and more effective for smaller quantities of liquid wastes while use of aerobic lagoons is better for larger quantities. Besides, understanding the quantity of recyclable materials in solid wastes makes it easier to calculate the economic returns of the recycled products (Toma, 2008). Hypothesis: Scientific process forms the best system for providing the solution of waste management in the cities. With the problem of the waste being a major source of ecological and social problems globally, it demands a holistic approach that appreciates the complexity of the issue and therefore provide the best possible solution. It is worth noting that scientific method of addressing the problem is based on factual information that is qualitatively and quantitatively derived. Therefore, will be able to assess and address actual problem affecting the people and the ecological systems. All aspects of urban wastes are scientifically derived and science only would interpret them on the same tone to establish means of reducing their effects (Worldwatch Institute, 2009). Socially, addressing the problem using scientific methods aid in ensuring that As a result, it has the ability to link the cause and consequences of the negative effects of the wastes and provide a long term solution to them. Conclusion With the pollution problem threatening to get out of hand in the major cities, it has become important to address it in a sustainable mode. Scientific process will therefore be the best mode due to its thoroughness and intrinsic capacity to alleviate the problem. The demand for cleaner and healthier environment over the years has increased greatly globally. Therefore, taking into consideration that the urban centers are growing faster than any other period in history, scientific process seeks to address the waste problem holistically at all levels. Most of the international considerations like Basel convention of 1989 and the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development of 1992 have called for scientific approaches to address the problem. The scientific process calls for effective consideration of the wastes from the point of production to disposal. Besides, it emphasizes on reduction of wastes at the source and application of the best systems that reduces its effects to the people and the natural systems (Worldwatch Institute, 2009). It demands for recycling of all the recyclable waste materials in the wastes a notion that goes a long way in improving the resources utility. Through use of the life cycle analysis/ end of pipe system, wastes are slowly turning into precious resources to be used in other areas like conditioning farms, irrigation, and making building bricks. Notably, the scientific process demands that cooperation be instituted at all levels of the waste management to harmonize the process and ensure long term sustainability. Finally, the scientific process sets effective standards that should be observed by waste producers and managements, and monitoring systems to ensure compliance. Reference list Bureau of National Affairs, (2007). International environment reporter: current report. Washington, D. C. : Bureau of National Affairs. Toma, V. (2008). Waste Management Research Trends. Basel: Nova Publishers. Worldwatch Institute, (2009). State of the World 2009: Into a Warming World. London: W W Norton Co Inc.

Threats and opportunities from site :: essays research papers

Threats to sustainability Imitation or substitution Market entry Powerful buyers and suppliers Unpredictable changes in external environment Factors beyond a firm's control (bad luck) Limitations of the RBV Presented as static concept - however, many firms need to be able to cope with turbulent environments Suggests that managers may have limited ability to create sustained competitive advantages (empirical support by "perpetually failing firms" - firms that consistently earn normal or below-normal returns Difficult to test empirically - data problem (at the level of the unit of analysis, Le., resources and capabilities) What is the appropriate level of analysis? How deeply does one have to look? Principles of capabilities-based competition Goal : Build difficult-to-imitate organizational capabilities that distinguish a company from its competitors Principles : o The building blocks of strategy are business processes o The transformation of processes into valuable strategic capabilities is a key to success o Capabilities are created by making strategic investments in support infrastructure o CEO must be responsible, because competing on capabilities involves cross-functionality Some lessons learned from the capabilities perspective A capability begins and ends with the customer (or supplier) The longer and more complex the string of business processes, the harder it is to transform into a capability or to duplicate or imitate Outsourcing can be dangerous A strategy for growth : Transfer essential business processes to New geographic areas (e.g., Wal-Mart) or to New businesses (e.g., Honda) There is a difference between capabilities and core competencies Core competencies Coordinate diverse production skills and integrate multiple streams of technology Are communication, involvement, and a deep commitment to working across organizational boundaries Do not diminish with use, but are enhanced as they are applied and shared Are the glue that binds existing businesses Are difficult to imitate, especially if they are a complex harmonization of individual technologies and production skills Are corporate resources and may be reallocated by corporate management Tests to identify core competence : Does it provide access to a wide variety of markets ? Does it make a significant contribution to the perceived customer benefits of the end product? Is it difficult for competitors to imitate? Dynamic capabilities Definition : Ability to integrate, build and reconfigure internal and external processes and competencies to address a rapidly changing environment; ability to maintain and adapt the capabilities that are the basis of competitive advantage Hypothesis : Competitive advantage of a firm lies with its processes Roles of organizational and managerial processes :

Alliant health system Essay

From my point of view no strategy is perfectly sound. There are some or other lacking points in every strategy. In case of alliants strategy, although they have made quite advancements but in last 5yrs they have hit a few unexpected obstacles and drawbacks that has staggered their progress. alliants were only been able to lay the base. The working of alliants was facing the problem of in cordiality to the total quality management philosophy. For alliants to eliminate the problem the quality process still needs a jumpstart ,even the physicians show broader there view point, implementation of an IT system that fully supports total quality management by getting them the data and the important facts it need to have to in cooperate innovation in future in their organisation. Even the CEO wolford said that he cannot talk about any one area which is doing substantially well than its competitors. alliants were finding a problem to get plans into implementation. Even as per the statistics the unable to monitor rate was around 2% to 70%. How well have they implemented the quality strategy? Alliants thought of a new action plan to introduce total quality management with the help of quality management team with a 10 pointer action setup. This time they were determent that the implementation of plans takes up systematically. Mainly 4 area of TQM strategy were taken of well. 1) CARES+ – this process was implemented all across the alliants. This helped in shifting from the traditional system of the planning to the improvement of the quality which was highly efficient. 2) EQUIP- this was an idea to give voice to the employees. They were allowed to share their point of view and give their ideas, innovations and communicate with the higher management of the organisation. 3) . Quality Improvement Teams- these teams brought the technicality and specific analytical tools to bring implementation in action. 4) . Critical Paths 3. Evaluate their information technology needs. Believed information technology (I/T) is a key in the future strength of TQM Need â€Å"expert systems – computers to help the mind† â€Å"Was a shift in focus: to patient-oriented systems rather than functional, â€Å"stove pipe† applications that met narrow departmental needs. Physicians, clinical support professionals, and administrators could share information and drive continuous improvement in service â€Å"HELP offered advice on possible diagnoses, cost-effective treatments, resource scheduling, and drug contraindications. † New I/T strategy offered significant advantages over Alliant’s existing patchwork of stand-alone systems: System worked concurrently – advice was available as patient was being treated Had the potential to improve coordination dramatically by collecting data from all corners of the hospital into a single patient-centered system 4. Would you proceed with HELP? From my point of view, yes we should proceed with HELP. As this improving the quality, saving time and even the paper. This system has helped the hospital in making the whole organisation a one working unit. This is basically a single patient orient system that has all the information about every patient who has been admitted in any of their hospital in any other area. This has eliminated the repeated data and has been proved to be more productive, efficient and well organised. 5. What would you do to make sure implementation is successful? The steps which i would take will involve

Consumer Behavior on Black Friday

Running Head: Black Friday Consumer Behavior on Black Friday Abstract The purpose of this research is to examine consumer behavior on Black Friday. Black Friday is typically the busiest shopping day of the year, and it is all driven by the chance for consumers to save the most amount of money possible while getting their holiday shopping done. Research was done online, and also through personal experiences. By understanding what retailers and consumers hope to accomplish on this day can have a positive impact on everyone. Consumers are able to get what they want with the least amount of turmoil, and retailers are able to turn a profit. This research can be most helpful to merchants, as it will help them to understand what a consumer wants, and what they expect the unofficial holiday to be like. A complication with this research is that each consumer is different and may have different expectations in mind. Concentrating on making Black Friday as organized as possible will only benefit all parties involved. Introduction Black Friday refers to the day after Thanksgiving, which is the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. Black Friday is a day when stores dramatically discount products with the intention of luring in the highest number of shoppers possible. The term Black Friday received its name because that is a day when, hopefully, businesses balance sheets go from red, a loss, to black, a profit (Staff, 2010). It can be a day of chaos, as seen in 2008 when a Walmart employee was trampled to death by a mob of customers (Gould, Trapasso, & Schapiro, 2008). But many that day focus on saving money, and are willing to wait in lines for days for a deal. Impulsive Consumption Some of the purchases made on Black Friday may be impulsive. The textbook states that impulsive consumption is usually spontaneous and involves some feelings of liberation; is associated with a lessened sense of costs or consequences; and is motivated by a need for immediate self-fulfillment (Babin & Harris, 2011). Consumers who go to a store for only a couple of items may find themselves enticed by other items that are on sale. The average person spent $365. 34 during Black Friday weekend 2010, for a total of approximately $45 billion total spent nationally (Chang, 2010). Unplanned purchases may be made because although a consumer went to a store for one sale, they may not have known all the other items that are discounted that day, and may make other purchases. Because many Black Friday shoppers are actually holiday shopping for other people, it is easy to look for a gift for one person, but find those perfect gifts for the other four people on your list, all in the name of getting a good deal. Social Environment Social environment is defined in the text as â€Å"the other customers and employees in a service or shopping environment (Babin & Harris, 2011). Normally, people may be put off by crowding at stores. However, it is the norm on Black Friday. Although it is still unfavorable, it is something that people are willing to adapt to for the day. It may give a sense of urgency, which will put a consumer into the mindset of action. The text also refers to shopping buddies. Many people who wait in line for hours or even days on Black Friday do not do so alone. There are usually small groups of people, which may help to make consumers feel more comfortable. Consumers are taking more time to find buddies to shop with, and they are making an effort to have a plan in mind for what stores they will visit, and what they will purchase. For people who wait in lines for extended periods, they usually create some type of habitat to pass the time. Consumers bring tents, chairs and heaters to make themselves more comfortable. Some even bring electrical items such as lighting, computers or small televisions to keep them company while waiting for the savings to begin. The people in line usually form temporary relationships with the people that are around them. Sharing stories or deals that they are interested in is a far cry from the massive chaos shown on television news stories. Attitudes People may get caught up in the excitement of the day, and that can help them to spend even more money. While waiting in line, customers at the front of the line seem to be excited and happy. However, at the end of the line, customers appear to be more frustrated and anxious. Some consumers plan their Black Friday shopping trips weeks in advance. There are many websites available for people to view Black Friday advertisements online, before they are supposed to be released to the public. Walmart has tried year after year for the advertisements not to be leaked, but they usually end up on these websites before they are supposed to (4 Years Strong: Walmart Sends Another Cease & Desist, 2011). Stores may not want to have their advertisements released early for a couple of reasons. First, consumers having the ability to research products and having too much time to explore all of their options may mean that consumers will not make as many spontaneous purchases on Black Friday. They also do not want to have their competition see their deals, and then have them beat their prices. Having the advertisements earlier though means consumers are able to plan what stores they want to go to, which may lead to less chaos on the actual day. People are motivated by saving money on Black Friday. Some consumers may even see it as a competition. For some, because there is only a limited selection available for many of the items that are drastically reduced, just acquiring that item may be all the motivation someone needs to be at the front of the line on Black Friday. A consumer may feel a sense of empowerment, or the thrill of winning, which will only intensify their moods for the day. A consumer may be more likely to make a purchase of something out of the ordinary because of the price on Black Friday. The perceived risk is lower because the consumer balances the risk with the monetary discount that is offered, and can write it off easier. Normally, consumers may think thoroughly about an electronics purchase. However, electronics are usually a major seller on Black Friday. Because the discount is thought to be so significant, and the consumer thinks there are only a limited number available, they do not have time to think the purchase through like the normally would, and they make the purchase. What people are buying Each year, electronics are the one of the most widely sought after products on Black Friday. In 2009, the introduction of Zhu-Zhu Pets was the top search on Google referring to Black Friday sales (Wong, 2009). Surprisingly, rugs and jewelry were also top searches in 2009. In 2010, the iPad and other tablets were the top searches in electronics (Andrew, 2010). They were ollowed by laptops and HDTV’s. Handheld gadgets are expected to be a top seller for 2011. E-readers, tablets, music players and smart phones all seem to be popular searches for the upcoming holiday (Black Friday 2011 Predictions, 2011). Televisions and accessories are normally highly discounted on Black Friday, and 2011 should be no different. There may be more sales on 3D televisions, blu-ray players, and bundles of the televisions with the accessories. Cyber Monday Some consumers do not want to brave the chaos of Black Friday, and have moved to online shopping, while still looking for the dramatic discounts. Online purchases have grown steadily over the past few years, and in 2005, the term â€Å"Cyber Monday† was created (â€Å"Cyber Monday† Quickly Becoming One of the Biggest Online Shopping Days of the Year, 2005). In 2010, Black Friday sales grew 9% from the year before, but Cyber Monday sales grew 16% (U. S. Online Holiday Shopping Season Reaches Record $32. 6 Billion for November-December Period, Up 12 Percent vs. Year Ago, 01). Cyber Monday 2010 was the first billion-dollar spending day in history, and the first time that sales on Monday were higher than Friday. Many people have a four-day weekend for Thanksgiving, and are back to work on Monday. A large number of consumers are able to place orders right from a work computer, or even their smart phones. Smart phones are also making it easier for consumers to do research on sales, and to do the shopping itself. Online Black Friday sales increased 11% from 2008-2009 (Wong, 2009). Retailer Organization Most consumers on Black Friday have the same goal; to save money. If the stores are able to have some form of organization on Black Friday, it should help to keep the customers organized also. Chaos is more likely to happen when the store is not prepared for the massive number of shoppers. If the store makes adjustments to the way they normally operate, they are more likely to have an easier time handling the crowds. Passing out tickets to the customers in line for big ticket items is becoming the norm for many stores (Palmer, 2010). By doing so, customers are able to be sure they are going to receive the item they came to purchase, and it is easier to explain when they are sold out of a particular item. Also, some stores are able to rearrange their stores and put the items that are on sale in a particular area, so customers will not have to search all around the store, adding to the chaos. Many stores are choosing to open very early, with some retailers, such as Toys R Us even opening on Thanksgiving night at 10 P. M (Toys†R†Us Stores Nationwide to Open at 10pm on Thanksgiving Night to Welcome Black Friday Shoppers Earlier Than Ever Before with 200 Doorbusters and More Than $11,000 in Savings on Hot Toys, 2010). As this was only introduced in 2010, it remains unknown whether other stores will follow the idea. Having enough employees at check-out and for assisting customers is also essential. Retailers may want to also hire some form of security for the day, to prevent mobs of people causing chaos. No matter how prepared a shopper may be on Black Friday, if the store is unorganized or does not have a sensible system in place, chaos may ensue because of the consumers confusion or frustrations. Customers also look for even further discounts on Black Friday by using coupons. Retailers may want to include in their advertisements and stores about their coupon acceptance policy on Black Friday. If a customer waits in line for hours, then goes in the store to get an item, then waits in line for another hour to check-out, only to find that their coupon will not be accepted, that consumer may get very irritated and that will cause further problems. Conclusion Black Friday is a day that retailers hope to make the most amount of profit. But for consumers, they hope to save as much money as possible. Many consumers make impulsive shopping decisions on Black Friday. The social environment may lead to this behavior, as many shoppers are with friends or family, and make a display out of their shopping practices on that day. The attitudes of people can vary greatly on that day also. Most people are excited, but that can turn to frustration if it does not go as planned. Purchasing trends can vary each year, depending on what the newest items are. Electronics and the newest toys are usually very popular items. Cyber Monday is also changing the way people shop, and helping them to save even more money from the comfort of their home, from work, or even on their smart phone. A retailer being organized on Black Friday is imperative, as it can affect consumer behavior and how much money they spend. References 4 Years Strong: Walmart Sends Another Cease & Desist. (2011, 10 14). Retrieved 10 22, 2011, from http://bfads. net/ Andrew. (2010, 11 15). Holiday Shopping Trends and. Retrieved 10 23, 2011, from http://www. retrevo. com/content/node/1570 Babin, B. J. , & Harris, E. G. (2011). CB2. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Black Friday 2011 Predictions. (2011, 10 11). Retrieved 10 23, 2011, from http://www. blackfriday2011. om/news/2011/10/11/black-friday-2011-predictions/ Chang, A. (2010, 11 28). Big Black Friday weekend results: 212 million shoppers, $45 billion spent. Retrieved 10 21, 2011, from http://latimesblogs. latimes. com/money_co/2010/11/big-black-friday-weekend-results-212-million-shoppers-and-45-billion-spent. html â€Å"Cyber Monday† Quickly Becoming One of the Biggest Online Shopping Days of the Year. (2005, 11 21). Retrieved 23 2011, 10, from http://www. shop. org/c/journal_articles/view_article_content? groupId=1&articleId=623&version=1. 0 Gould, J. , Trapasso, C. & Schapiro, R. (2008, 11 28). Worker dies at Long Island Wal-Mart after being trampled in Black Friday stampede. Retrieved 10 21, 2011, from http://articles. nydailynews. com/2008-11-28/local/17910475_1_wal-mart-worker-long-island-wal-mart-jdimytai-damour Palmer, K. (2010, 11 23). Black Friday Guide to the Best Deals and Steals. Retrieved 10 23, 2011, from http://money. usnews. com/money/personal-finance/articles/2010/11/23/black-friday-guide-to-the-best-deals-and-steals Staff, L. L. (2010, 11 24). Business News Daily. Retrieved 10 21, 2011, from http://www. businessnewsdaily. om/how-did-black-friday-and-cyber-monday-get-their-names–0754/ Toys†R†Us Stores Nationwide to Open at 10pm on Thanksgiving Night to Welcome Black Friday Shoppers Earlier Than Ever Before with 200 Doorbusters and More Than $11,000 in Savings on Hot Toys. (2010, 11 16). Retrieved 10 23, 2011, from http://www. prnewswire. com/news-releases/toysrus-stores-nationwide-to-open-at-10pm-on-thanksgiving-night-to-welcome-black-friday-shoppers-earlier-than-ever-before-with-200-doorbusters-and-more-than-11000-in-savings-on-hot-toys-108565064. html U. S. Online Holiday Shopping Season Reaches Record $32. 6 Billion for

McDonald case Essays

McDonald case Essays McDonald case Essay McDonald case Essay We apply Porters 5 Forces as an analytical framework for assessing McDonalds competitiveness strategies In fast food market. 1. Threat of New Entrants: Low Although It Is not too expensive to start up a fast food restaurant, but fast food Industry Is already a well-established market. Therefore, Infant businesses which want to enter into this market would have to face huge challenges: McDonalds is one of the worlds strongest and most recognizable brands for its worlds best quick service restaurant service experience (Evanescence and Mark), so their products are noninsured to be one of the most famous and familiar with customers. They have gained a huge number of loyal customers who are satisfied with their products. While new entrants have to wait for a long time to build brand recognition and customer base. In 2012, McDonalds remained number one with $35. 6 billion in sales, almost one-quarter of all sales by the top-50 restaurants and almost three times the sales of its closest competitor. Obviously, they own a significant market share which will create difficulty In gaining economy of scale for new entrants to enter the market. New entrants also find that they are faced with price competition from existing chain restaurants. If there Is no consumer switching cost which means consumers will not have to bear any additional cost when they switch to a new products, there are some order to make sure the menu stays affordable and trying to maintain the pricing. 2. The Bargaining Power of Customer: Moderate Since the fast food industry is well saturates the buyer are in a situation where many different suppliers are offering similar products. McDonalds must pay more attention to customers needs to attract new buyers and maintain loyal customers. Therefore, consumers have more power over buying McDonalds products because they can demand what type of products they want to see from them. If the fast food industry does not match the demands of the buyers and the general consumer trends, the buyers can choose not to buy their product and convince others to do the same. Today, consumers are demanding healthier food and beverage choices from fast- food restaurants such as McDonalds. After the documentary film Supervise Me by Morgan Spurious came out in 2004, a film displayed the health risks that were posed y traditional fast food from MAC Donas. A rise in awareness of the high fat content of most of the products offered by McDonalds from the whole market created a large change in consumer preferences and brand preferences, and this made McDonalds face some lawsuits with loyal customers. Consequently, McDonalds started providing nutrition information on the packaging of their products; and tried to provide more offerings that were likely to be perceived by customers as being healthier such as fruits and salads. However, because of low customer switching costs which are nearly ere. McDonalds are highly competitive with their product pricing compared to Burger King, Wendy, among other competitors; and they already offer selections at various price points that cater to all budgets. Thus, fast food industry does not worry about customers loyalty. And customers are a lot of individuals, so they will have no pressure to force company to pass on the decrease in price or accept a higher quality of product service. 3. The Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Low According to Confession (2005), there are 3,700 new outlets being built each year in the U. S. Meaning the power of suppliers is not an issue for McDonalds. Restaurants can simply switch to another supplier offering the same product. This means McDonalds can put pressure on suppliers to reduce costs, offer better products, reduce delivery times or provide higher volume. For example, there are many substitute suppliers out there that can replace current suppliers (I. E. , Pepsi could replace Coca Cola) without a sign ificant drop in quality. Furthermore, McDonalds is also considered to be a very important customer of any of these suppliers so in contrast, it will gain influence over the suppliers. 4. Threats of Substitute Products: High Because the consumers switching costs are low that means that there is a low barrier stopping the consumer from purchasing the substitute. Variety of similar products and healthier alternatives are available that people can chose. Another thing is that fast food industry is unhealthy to its customers health. The customer always tends to find another product comparable or better in terms of the quality of fast food products. Fast food restaurants keep a major advantage over other firms selling substitute products through the lower prices and a quick, convenient service. However, since the market consists of many differentiated fast food companies, the customers are used to having the option of choosing the best value products. The food industry normally targets. Furthermore, it offers healthy alternatives to match the consumer needs and wishes. The threat of substitutes is greater now more than ever with the convenience food industry growing. More convenience food stores are offering similar products as the fast-food restaurants. The convenience store / gas station sells many food items such as hot dogs, egg rolls, pizza, and beverage. The preferences between McDonalds and their others competitive are services of delivery that is Mac Delivery that give a good service, faster and make customer easy to buy from any kind of set of menu at McDonalds. 5. The Intensity of Rivalry among Competitors in an Industry: High When exit barriers are low, weak firms are more likely to leave the market, which will increase the profits for the remaining firms. Low exit barriers are a positive for McDonalds; it will help eliminate small firms that cannot take market share in this industry. However, main concern that McDonalds has to take precaution is major corporations. Although McDonalds serves around 68 million customers daily in 119 countries across 35,000 outlets, it has a number of fast food outlet competitors across the countries. However, Burger King and Wendy are considered as the main and biggest competitors to McDonalds. Sustainable competitive advantage through innovation is a key factor that McDonalds considers as main competitive advantage to compete with rivals. By attributing useful speed of services, types of products, prices of products and level of service, McDonalds has been doing great keeping up with the industry and even leading in fast food industry. McDonalds have led to improvement in its sales and profits by effort of top level management include Jim Skinner, the concepts of the late Charles Bell, and the late James Cantaloupe. James Cantaloupe was a former vice-chairman who had overseen McDonalds successful international expansion in the sasss and sasss. He was instrumental in developing a strategic plan called Plan to Win which was the starting point for the turnaround at the beginning of 2003. Today sales are strong in domestic markets and even higher in the global markets. The plan focuses on existing customers and by changing their image to promote healthier menu items. This was the long term goal set by Cantaloupe, followed by Bell and now Skinner. B) The general environment consists of all conditions in the external environment that forms a background context for managerial decision making. In other words, general environment is the outer layer that is widely dispersed and indirectly affected on level of organizations success. Although a business cannot control what takes place in the general environment, evaluating the general environment can allow businesses the opportunity to predict changes and identify future opportunities. The general environment includes Demographic Trends, Socio-cultural, Economic, Technological, Political and Legal, Global. The external environment will continue to change?and that change may be unpredictable in terms of timing and strength?a firms management is challenged to be aware of, understand the implications of, and identify patterns represented in these changes by taking actions to improve the firms competitive position, improve operational efficiency, and to be effective global competitors. 1. Demographic The number of people living in a region, their ethnicity, age, gender, race, sex and so on would be important factors to consider for any business organization. An with invaluable pointers towards launching new products, pricing, marketing strategies, etc. Most important for fast food industry that depends highly on people: The customer base for fast food franchises and restaurants includes the entire population, every day nearly 68 million customers served by McDonalds. ; in which the population aged between 12 and 30 years of age averages the greatest frequency of patronage in fast food establishments as they are the category with the greatest disposable income. McDonald segmenting their services based on consumer age and consumer beliefs in certain country. Demographic segmentation divides the market into groups based on variables like gender, age, nationality, religion, family life cycle and family size. McDonald offered their services by segmented their customer based on age, religion and family life cycle. For example, McDonalds offers different products like Happy Meal which includes a free toy for kids. 2. Coloratura. Values and beliefs vary from culture to culture, McDonalds have understood its customers based on their characteristics and must study the socio-cultural environment of a country thoroughly to avoid costly mistakes. Consumers around the world become more health conscious; they now substitute healthy food for a quick cheap meal, a healthy diet; it actually hurts McDonalds profits. Under pressure to provide healthier meals, McDonalds announced that it would no longer market some of its less nutritional options to children and said it also planned to include offerings of fruits and vegetables in many of its menu. It plans to make the changes to its menu in 20 of the companys largest markets, but it will take three years or more to put them into place in about half the restaurants in those markets, and which it is estimated would cost about $35 million to suit contemporary tastes and to try to address health concerns raised for years. 3. Economic Economy is important factor which is impacting McDonalds. McDonalds has global presence that would be affected by the changes in inflation and the exchange rates. Hence, these chains may have to adapt to the issues and the effects of the economic environment. Company always need to thing about profitability, growth to expand of company. So, they need to consider countries demand, supply, production, distribution, exchange rate, business cycles, and differential economic growth rates round the world. Besides, the economic situation is slowing down and facing with high unemployment rate, so branches and franchises of McDonalds have a tendency to experience a hardship when consumers have to cut down their spending. On the other hand, McDonalds could have potential opportunities in developing countries, developing countries economies are growing, and buying power of people from developing countries is increasing. 4. Global issues Thanks to globalization, the world has become smaller and closer. It provides for McDonald a good chance to approach new potential market and valuable production actors such as pool of cheaper and skilled labor, diversified sources of raw materials. However, it also brings again some threats such as new competitors such as threats from sushi and burritos. Question 2 Internal Environment Analysis 1 . Tangible resources Finical resources over two years from 2006 to 2008 decrease slightly, the amount of money changes from 2,136,400 to 2,063,400 thousand dollar. In contrast, both the total revenue and gross profit in Exhibit 1 increase gradually from 21 to 23,522,400 thousand dollar (total revenue). In addition, gross profit also goes up from 6,984,300 to 8,639,200 thousand dollar. At that time, the McDonalds the fast food chains performance impressive rivals KEF and Wendy had to have face with the spending downturn and the economic also drops. McDonalds keeps going and achieve a growing up thanks for the strategy of CEO Jim Skinnier Plan to Win. This is an excellent and successful strategy aims to increasing sale at existing location by improving the menu, re decorating the outlets, and extending hours. Some snacks and drinks are added in their menu and McDonalds tries to maintain the price and makes sure to give customers an affordable menu without hurting the firms profit margin. Cost of material still increases but Skinner does well when he keeps providing unchanged price. As the result, in 2008 McDonalds has a strong financial capacity and they can raise equity, revenue and profit. Physical recourse McDonalds does great work in physical recourse. Looking at Exhibit 4, during the period 2004 to 2008, it is clear that the total of number of outlet increases step by step from 30,496 to 31 ,967. The number of outlets Company owned decreases significantly, meanwhile the total of franchise in a lot of areas around the world increases steadily from 22,317 to 25,465. There is more than 75 percent of its outlets re owned franchise and other affiliates. This is a strength point of McDonalds, this firm has more opportunities to highlight its brand as well as help customers recognize the brand easily. Furthermore, continuing to develop franchise is more economical than establishing a new place. In addition, as a part of turnaround strategy, McDonalds spends time to be concentrate on refurbish all the outlets over the world to make their places more beautiful aims to attract customers such as: the interiors feature arm chairs and sofas, modern lighting, large television screen, wireless Internet access. Skinner also creates feature include music aimed at queuing vehicle etc, customers can see meals being prepare from their cars. This is a very modern creative design and customers feel exciting about that. Technological resource As a part of innovation, McDonalds has a good idea to design a touch activated screen which is comfortable and convenient to customers. By watching and following meal being prepared from their cars, customers can know about the component in McDonalds production. It allows customers can order food without queuing. Basing on the website of McDonalds, customers can research about menu, nutrition, urination, store location and price. Moreover, inside the outlets is equip wireless internet access, it is very convenient to customers when they go to inside outlets, they can enjoy their meal and check the menu or access the internet to connect with friends, relatives or entertain. With this channel creation, Skinner has more and more royal and potential customers. 2. Intangible recourses. Organizational resource. McDonalds has built a good structure organization and effectively managing which is head of by CEO and the broad of director in each areas in detail such as: Greece, Asia everything concerns about finance, human, accounting etc. Under CEO, there are divided unit functional department about finance, marketing, HER etc. CEO can manage each department through manager of each department and franchise. Each department has exactly manager so manager can report all things to CEO. McDonalds serves about 52 million customers through 100 countries per day with over 30,000 outlets and 25,000 franchises. Each franchise operates like a subsidiary and be managed by an general manager who manages and guide employee. He/she also has task and responsibility to report to the CEO and Broad of director. This structure brings the effectiveness and the smooth interaction between department and the CEO. Human resource. McDonalds brings thousand of Job for American population and there is a clearly kind of employee: restaurant workers, corporate staff and franchise owners. Most of Skinner local restaurant employee are in 50 and 65, McDonalds also hire in par time position to reduce expenses. However, the firm has to face with the problem when the labor market is tighter; Skinner tends to cut back on training as it struggled hard to find new recruit, a policy that led a dramatic falloff in the skill of its employees. As a result, Skinner has to spend money to train necessary skill for employees to take back smile from customers. Moreover, McDonalds payment salary does not make their employees satisfied so it has some bad impacts to employees morale. There is no distinguishing position and the task. Managers receive salary lightly higher than crew employee, meanwhile they have to do more complicated tasks, take more responsibilities. In addition, employees do not receive bonus when they have to do extra hours as well as done tasks perfectly. These make them disappointed and easy to q drop the Job. As the result, McDonalds has to waste time to recruit and train. Innovation McDonalds has a good step innovation when Skinner put raising profit and maintaining potential customers on company top priority. For example, they make a small changing in the component of their food but they protect unchanged taste. They remove trans- fatty acids in the oil which is used for French fries. For instance, they also introduce some new meal for customers in various kinds of order such as: Miscarried breakfast sandwich, offering a couple of syrup-drenched pancakes and a sandwich filled with eggs, cheese, sausage and bacon in three different of ambition. By this way, Mac can meet customers satisfaction, they would like to come to inside the restaurants to enjoy their meal easier. Furthermore, Mac provides available internet inside and smart screen attract more customers. Choosing meal and then order them online easier instead of queuing are a great innovation of Skinner. Reputation. McDonalds is one of the most famous fast food brands with hamburger and cheeseburger over the world from time to establish to now. Passing over 50 years, Mac has a lot of achievement and has been still famous today. Sine 1940, the number of outlets and franchises increase appreciably. At first, Mac only was a single outlet in nondescript Chicago sunburn then today Mac becomes a largest chain of outlet spread out the globe. To be built and maintained the reputation, McDonalds should improve the quality of food to ensure that their customers will be healthy and happy customers in which Mac can update all products information, the customer feedbacks to response on time. Furthermore, they also highlight their reputation by doing charity to serve and protect social, it is one kind of code of ethics. Organizational Capabilities. An organizational capability of Mac is a great combination of both tangible and intangible recourse to run business effectively. Financial stability, human recourses and management skills will be a good basic help Mac maintain and develop its value and satisfy the customer expectations. Mac also focuses and invests to train skill for managers to build a good model with high quality of leader. When a leader is good, he/she can train their employee better. That is reason to make firm existent and keep competitive of rivalry in competition of fast food industry. In addition, to be more strong and developed, Mac should focus on technology and demography changing. The company should pay attention on the customers taste in specific country to adapt the market quickly. To achieve this goal, Mac should take a research before entering in a new market. Question 3 A combination of cost leadership and differentiation strategy. A combination of cost leadership and differentiation are the two recommended strategies that McDonald should because of following reasons. Firstly, for cost leadership, due to the fact that McDonald had a wrestling about increasing cost in production process and the company also remained their products price, this would make the company in lower their profit margin in return. With low products price although McDonald had a competitive advantage in attracting customers with their competitors, this would also a challenges for the company in getting profits in return. It is widely known that input costs for production process will increase more and more, therefore; if McDonald do not have a strategy in lowering its production costs, it will be a possibility for the company to run-out of fast food business industry. Secondly, it is believed that making something unique and different with competitors is also a recipe for the companys success in outdoing competition with their strong rivalries such as KEF, Pizza Hurt. Therefore, differentiation strategy should be applied by McDonald. McDonald should make their products healthier for their customers because fast food is widely known that it is not decent for people health. If McDonald can create healthier products for their customers, this will make the company different with their competitors, which is a good way for the company to attract more customers. Besides, McDonald should also improve their menu by creating new products such as cookies that their competitors do not have in their menu in order to increase customers choice and to achieve competitive advantage in customers attraction impaired with their rivalries. Therefore, the more and more customers come to the company, the more profits they will make. In conclusion, in my opinion, McDonald should apply the combination strategy above because when they follow the strategy, the company can create good customers relationship so that they can last long in the fast food industry by making more profit. Furthermore, this will be a trend for the company to compete with their rivalries and to construct a high entry barrier for new industry entrants in competing with the company in the fast food industry.

11 Main Challenges Faced By Admin Assistants

11 Main Challenges Faced By Admin Assistants Administrative assistants work in every industry, and their jobs are  extremely demanding. If youre not one, you might not know how hard they work, but don’t underestimate the grueling nature of their day-to-day or the amount of education they needed to get there! And if you are one, you know all too well the struggles that come from this often underappreciated job.Here are a few challenges admin assistants face on the regular.1. Difficult PersonalitiesEver had a bad boss? Yeah, well, administrative assistants are tasked to those bad bosses 24/7. Their whole job is to deal with those demanding, aggressive, socially awkward, self-important, micromanaging lunatics. So show a little respect.2. Devaluation of their JobIf you’re an admin assistant, everybody just assumes you’re not qualified enough to get a real job. That’s mostly because they have no idea what your job actually entails. No one multitasks or juggles better. But admin assistants are too humble to correct you. They know what they know.3. Clean-up Responsibilities for AllThe task of office clean-up, and also the general putting out of everybody else’s fires and fixing of everybody’s messes, almost always falls to admin assistants. Next time you see a handwritten sign taped over the festering sink, think of how many weeks of suffering in silence went on before that sign even went up.4.  Youre Always on CallEven though admin assistants have little authority, they are expected to know almost everything and they can be blamed for almost everything that happens to go wrong. And they are expected to be available whenever anybody needs them.5. Inconsistent Whims and DemandsAdmin assistants aim to please and are always trying to carry out a boss’s wishes and anticipate his or her needs. But so often bosses keep moving the goalposts and changing the rules. It can be enormously frustrating to keep up.6. Inappropriate RequestsIt’s bad enough having to ba bysit your boss and your colleagues. Sometimes you’re asked to actually babysit children when a coworker or your boss brings theirs to work. Or you’re asked to go get someone’s dry cleaning (someone you dont report to) or run another ridiculous errand.7. Shooting the MessengerEven if you didn’t screw up, you’re the one who usually gets yelled at- by everyone. Admin assistants are constantly in the direct line of fire.8. Lack of Trust and TimeYou could either end up with a boss who rides you on every little detail, or even worse, one who doesn’t have any time for you. It’s very hard to do your job if you don’t get at least a few minutes a day of face time to make sure you know what’s needed of you.9. Theres Rarely a ThanksOf all the things you’ll hear said or shouted at you as an admin assistant, â€Å"thank you† is almost never one of those things. Even and especially when you were the one who saved the day .10. No Time to Do It AllAs an admin assistant, your list of tasks- and the stack of papers on your desk- is gargantuan. You make deadlines just fine, but the to-do list never seems to shrink.11. No MoneyPerhaps the biggest injustice done to admin assistants is the egregious lack of compensation. Nobody gets paid less given their work and worth.So next time you feel like yelling at an assistant- or just dumping some thankless jobs on their desk, don’t! Imagine what their day must be like first and show a little love. And if you are one, thanks for all you do. We appreciate you.

Larry King - a King of the American TV and Radio Broadcasting Research Paper

Larry King - a King of the American TV and Radio Broadcasting - Research Paper Example Larry King’s first show with CNN was initiated in June 1985. He hosted a number of controversial personalities on his shows which essentially made the Larry King Live a unique show in its own right. As far as his conducting of the show was concerned, he had a very direct and non-confrontational approach. He allowed the guests to speak their mind and thus allow them to get their message to their intended audience without any hindrances whatsoever. The guests felt special being on his show, which is indeed a positive if seen within the related settings of the Larry King Live show. He asked easy, open-ended questions which made him an instant hit with his guests. Also, the audience enjoyed the cozy dialogue between Larry King himself and the guests present on the show (Farha 2001). As far as his interview style is concerned, frankness is one word that comes to mind. He was vivid and very clear on his topic, and thus the reason why he was always prepared on his show. He had the exact idea as to how to prepare himself for the show and what kind of subject he was studying before sitting in front of the guest. There were occasional bursts of humor embedded in his conversation with the guests. His approach was very welcoming for those guests who usually avoided any interviews. Even though he was known for his lack of pre-preparation of the interview, he had solid knowledge at hand. Much appreciation goes on his shoulders because people appreciate him for what he did and what kind of atmosphere he created in the studios. A number of guests felt emotional within his show and started to weep. There seems to be an emotional bonding of Larry King with his guests and thus the reason why his guests understood that Larry King is one man who can be considerate enough and can understand what they are saying. CNN’s online biography suggests that Larry King conducted nearly 40,000 interviews during his career.